“...we have some history together that hasn’t happened yet.”
― Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

DAMN HIPPIES

Crosby, Stills, & Nash

Here are some damn hippies. When you were out running in the rat race, these lucky bastards were playing guitars, smoking weed, growing their hair long, and stealing your girlfriend. Or trying to, anyway. Sure, they were freaks and weirdos, outsiders and losers, even anti-war protesters...but they made some good tunes.

Hippie Costume

They're easy to poke fun at now (What does a deadhead say when he runs out of pot? This music sucks!) and sure they were naive and utopian, but maybe they deserve a little respect for escaping the lock-step conformity of their time and having some joi d'vivre back when you were still wearing white belts and feathering your hair, back when you thought Tricia Nixon was hot. Own your lameness. For just a moment, transcend...kick off your shoes, light a banana, and groove along with these crazy hippies!

For the grand finale, here's the Grateful Dead--yup, I make fun of them myself on occasion--but listen to the interplay of bass and guitar in this lysergic classic, "China Cat Sunflower," and hear how it evolves into "I Know You Rider." It really doesn't get more hippie than this. Come on, you're practically there. You're nearly groovy. Peaceout.

That sounds familiar. I think the music sounds great, too. When I've put down the Dead it's because of their lengthy tuning before songs, and their "noodling." When they are "on" and that X factor is kicking in, they can be a wonderful band. I think this clip is extraordinary. They weren't a slick, "professional" outfit that did the same thing every night--they were flying on inspiration and some sort of magic, and that was great to see when it worked.